Diabetes Risk Assessment among Adults- A Cross Sectional Study

Introduction: Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disorder of multiple etiologies characterized by chronic hyperglycemia with disturbance of carbohydrate, protein and fat metabolism resulting from impaired insulin secretion, insulin action, or both. Knowledge of the risk of diabetes development act as a primary prevention measure among the high-risk population. Objectives: To assess the risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus using Indian Diabetic Risk Score among adults of age more than 30 years in a colony. Methods: A cross sectional study was undertaken among adults of age more than 30 years to assess the risk of development of DM. A prevalidated, structured questionnaire was used to assess the risk of development of DM including the Indian Diabetes Risk Score. The total scores were classified into low, medium and high-risk categories. Results: Mean age of the study population was 46.12±10.9 yrs. Nearly 62% of study population were female, 42.7% had high school education and 44.7% were daily wage employees. Majority (47%) of the study population belonged to high risk and 36.5% belonged to medium risk category for development of DM. Increasing age, BMI, waist circumference, high Blood Pressure, a positive family history, female gender, higher education, current usage of alcohol and tobacco, sedentary to mild physical activities and high waist to height ratio were significantly associated with increased risk of development of Diabetes Mellitus. Conclusion: The risk assessment should be put forward as a major prevention tool in the DM management.